What do I do if I'm being sued by a credit card company?

Question

I received a summons for court in California. How do I respond to the summons? I received an attachment to the summons, and it says that it requires a written response? Do I need a lawyer? The amount owed is less than $5000. Can I still settle out of court and request a settlement amount? Or do I go to court with a check to pay off the amount then? I've never been sued before. And I hope to God that I never get sued again. What should I do?

Answer 1

Ahhh! The infamous "summons to appear". Designed to strike fear in the hearts of all reciepients.

When someone sues you in court they fill out an affidavit stating that you owe them money based on SOME premise, a contract, credit cards, a loan, etc. They want the court to get them their money.

You on the other hand have a presumption of innocence and as such the court wants to hear your side of the story. The two  statements are called pleadings and the court could care LESS as to which one is correct or if either one is correct. The purpose of the pleadings is to see if a controversy exists between the two parties.

If you say that YES, you owe the money in your answer (Not a smart thing to do)  then the court will rule (after being asked by the plaintiff) in summary judgment and the plaintiff is entitled to get a writ to seize your assets if you do not pay the amount of the judgment.

It is IMPORTANT NOT to miss the deadline for your answer as that will give the plaintiff a win (by default) and a writ is in order again.

Yes, you CAN attempt to settle out of court by WHY would the plaintiff do that? They have you in their cross hairs now and at worst, the court might permit you to make a payment schedule with the supervision of the court. (don't s***w this repayment thing up as it could be construed as contempt of court and the writ would be forthcoming again.

If you HAVE the money to pay them (or some lessor amount) call them and tell them (it is always worth a try)  but they will want ALL of the money that you agreed to settle for (if you agree to settle it for 3000, you will NEED 3000 cash), NOT a payment plan for 3000 dollars. The difference between settling OUT of court and in the court is that the plaintiff has the power of the court to enforce the agreement. Outside the court they might still have to run you down.  

If you PLAN on SOME form of settlement in court (you will be in a Magistrates Court, small claims) you should not need the expense of a lawyer but if you intend to challenge the allegations or the amount of the chargers, you might want to have one present.

Answer 2

It would be very wise to consult a lawyer right away.  You will have to appear in court according to the summons.  There is a possibility that you can negotiate a settlement; but discuss this with the lawyer.

Answer 3

a lawyers a good idea but if your like me you cant afford one. best thing to do is show up for court. maybe you can swing a deal on a payment plan. if you dont go they win by default. then they get a judgement. which lasts forever till its paid. best to go to court. maybe get them to drop the interest etc.

Answer 4

You can contact the creditor and see if they will drop the suit if you set up payment arrangements.

Answer 5

If you do plan on calling the creditor, you have to be firm in

your settlement offer if they think that you have more money

theywill want it all, if youre working and you think that youcan

repay it make the payment arrangement with the court, the

judge is not dumb he knows that these cccompanies add on

fees, interest, overlimit fees, ive been to these proceedings

and the judge will ask the creditor if the original amount is

2000 why does she owe 3500,  well we all know the answer

tothat one so the creditor has to drop all of those fees or at

least most of them it depends on each case, now in your

case the judge willhear yourcase, how did you come to

spend that much, things like that. Most of the time people

come into hard times, loss of job over long periods of time,

sickness, loss of life of family members, medical bills, if you

fall into those categories you still might get a judgement

against you but usually doesnt go nowhere unless your

state has garnishment wages then theywill withdraw an

amount every month, so check what is the law regardingthis

in your state, tx doesnthave this and if yourw ages are

minimal then the judgement is placed but isdefaulted if no

income whats the saying you cant get something out of

turnips, what you have to remember isthere are millions of

people in the same boat including me inthe same problem

the main thing in the future is get educated regarding your

credit, yourmoney and thenwe have to educate our kids that

way they dont rely on just credit cards,  Good luck!!!

Answer 6

If it's been more than 4 years since you became delinquent on this account, this debt is time barred and you have an affirmative defense against a lawsuit.

http://www.creditinfocenter.com/rebuild/...

Be advised that in CA making a payment does NOT reset the SOL.

Answer 7

http://money-moneyloan.blogspot.com

Answer 8

Bend over....that's about the only thing you can do.

If you received a summons, you have to respond and go to court.  If not you are automatically guilty by default.  There should be an address to respond to in your court papers.

When you go to court, all that will happen is your case will be called.  The lawyer for the credit card company will state his case, you'll state yours and the judge will rule.  If you can't pay in a lump sum, they will ask you to make payments.

Do ask the judge though if he can wave the attorneys fees (as they are most likely added in to the law suit.) The worst he could say is no.  Or at best, your price drops a little.

Good luck.